**SIGH**.......I guess you CAN have too many cats...:(

Well, it seems that Jim is not the only cat that is spraying. I must have pushed my babies over the top when I brought the fosters here. I just caught Sterling spraying on the closet door. :( I have had feliway diffusers plugged in for about 2 weeks now, but I guess they did not even begin to take effect. I know that you are suppose to run them for at least 4 weeks, but I am not very hopeful.:(
There is not much more to say, I just thought I'd let you all know..........All is not well in paradise. :(

14 cats...yeah, that is a houseful! Or do you have even more whose names are not listed on your post???

I guess I am pretty monophasic...one kitty is just right for me {;-) We can spend all our time just being each other's baby. I tell my calico princess Julie (meow!) that sometimes I take care of her--and sometimes she takes care of me...

Jen, I'm so sorry to hear that you're having problems. :( I guess your other cats may feel threatened so they're trying to mark their territory. Hopefully it's not a health issue. I'm sorry that I don't have any advice for you but I'm sure that some one with a large herd will be able to help you. Good luck and take care.

Jen,

I'm sorry to hear you are having spraying problems. :(

Have you tried the Feliway spray? It works much better for spraying cats. Its an aresol can that you spray in the areas your cat spray and it deters them.

Maybe that can help?

Oh dear, Jen. Luckily, thankfully, my Harper is the only one of mine with the spraying habit. He can only be let into the house when I have time to spend 100% with him .... to baby him, and to keep a watchful eye on him! It works well, since my hubby built our indoor kennel in our garage ... or I don't know what I would do. I have also seen him spraying around in the garage...on the outside of the kennel .... even recently ... so I know any hopes of him being able to spend unlimited time in the house is out of the question. Thankfully though, Harper prefers being King of the Kennel .... he tends to get very nervous outside of it.

I wish I had some words of wisdom for you, Jen.... I don't know that anything truly works once one starts marking? Best of luck! ;)

I am going to attach a picture of Harper caught in the act .... he even did it right under my nose! :rolleyes:

http://mystorage.homestead.com/files/badharper.jpg

Oh, I might add.... I didn't realize what he was doing when I was trying to take his picture!!!

http://mystorage.homestead.com/files/evidence.jpg:rolleyes:

Jen, now that I have 9 kittens ( which were mostly given to me in June) and 11 adults to care for, I realize now that I have too many cats. However I do not have a spraying problem with any of them. I could be due to my selection method for choosing which cat I want to care for. I remember last year while in central Calif. I had 2 cats who were constantly spraying. Neither were very affectionate, and otherwise, independent, and neither got along well with other cats. One of them was a female, and she did not get along well with her own kittens, after they had grown up. I usually kept them outdoors. All of my menagerie now, indoor cats. I even opened up the basement of this house in order to double the living space for all of them, appx 6200 sq. ft.

........wayne

Oh, Jen, I'm so sorry to hear that it's not just Jim that's spraying. :( I have heard the Feliway works, so you might want to try the spray like Kelly suggested. It might have more "immediate" results until the long term results of the plug-in can take effect. I am totally unfamiliar with this since I've never had a cat do it, but I know it's not a good thing and is difficult to cure. Could it be that Sterling started because he smelled the spots that Jim had already marked? Maybe someone will have some ideas on how to completely, totally clean the spots so they can't smell it anymore. If I remember right, Moosmom had suggested something in the past that she said works really well.

Good luck, and I sure hope you can get them to stop because I'd hate to see you stop the fostering.....:(

Oh Jen, it makes me so sad to read this, because I always admired your little happy and healthy cat herd...but maybe with one cat starting the spraying some of the others might follow and the addition of the fosters supports their confusion...

I am so sorry, but as an owner of only one cat I can't give you a proper advice here...I just wanted to let you know that I hope it will all work out and that you'll be able to continue fostering cats in need...

Here's a few sites that may help a bit. Also Catsnclay has this problem and their Dr. prescribed some medication. That may be an option if you know which one is doing it.

http://www.all-creatures.org/aip/nl-12nov2002-cats.html

http://members.aol.com/ukaim/frame.htm?b_spraying.htm

http://www.fabcats.org/is10.html

I don't have advice on their behaviour but I do have advice on getting the smell out. I use a product called "Kitty Scram" by Kleenco.

Its usually available in specialty Vacuum stores - but you might also be able to order it on-line. This stuff is absolutely the best! It really gets the odors out instead of covering them up.

How is it going, Jen? Have you found any solutions yet? Hang in there, something might work eventually!

HUGS,
Kim